Families First Receives Cummings Foundation Grant

Families First recently received a surprise visit from Richard Bush of the Cummings Foundation team, who announced that we were selected to receive a grant of $100,000 through the “$100K for 100” program. We are thrilled to have been chosen from a total of 597 applicants during a competitive review process.

With this grant, Families First will expand our new Power of Parenting program to reach more parents during the early years of their children’s lives, when positive parenting strategies and lower levels of stress are scientifically proven to lead to the healthy development of a child’s brain. As a result of this innovative program, parents are able to increase their children’s capacity for lifelong health and learning.

Power of Parenting includes research-based skill-building workshops and parent-led discussion sessions that are held right in parents’ own neighborhoods, enabling them to build support systems that last long after the program ends.

Families First Executive Director Sue Covitz commented, “The support we have received from Cummings Foundation is outstanding—and it will be truly impactful for the families we serve. As a result of this partnership, a growing number of parents will be able to nurture their young children from the start. Together Families First and Cummings Foundation will bring about deep, lasting change for families and communities.”

The “$100K for 100” program supports nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings—all of which are managed at no cost to the Foundation by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings, the commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.

Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s Executive Director, said, “We are indebted to the nonprofit organizations like Families First that have a meaningful positive impact on the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work. We are delighted to invest in their important programs and services.”